Best of the Spectator The Edition: is Labour too close to the City – with Lionel Shriver & Robert Hardman
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Feb 27, 2026 
Lionel Shriver, novelist and Spectator columnist, talks about his new immigration novel and clashes with the British press. Robert Hardman, royal commentator and Daily Mail columnist, dissects Parliament’s cautious response to royal scandals. Michael Simmons, economics editor, probes Labour’s ties to the City and bank influence. They also chat about BBC’s Industry, Brits’ Australia fascination, and the curious politics of moustaches.
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Policy Favors Big Finance Over Small Firms
- Small businesses face tougher hits while financial firms get lighter touch treatment from Treasury policy.
- Simmons notes national insurance hikes and minimum wage impacts hit local firms with fewer cash reserves, unlike City firms.
City Lobbying Became Overt Pressure
- Banks now make explicit, public threats linking investment plans to favourable policy treatment.
- Michael Simmons cites JP Morgan delaying an office project review until the pro-city environment continued as a direct example.
Fictional Collapse Focused On Family Fallout
- Lionel Shriver described writing The Mandibles about dollar collapse and dramatizing household-level effects.
- She framed the story around a wealthy patriarch whose fortune is destroyed to show daily desperation after economic collapse.
